Car hits pedestrians in New York

[mapuc]

Are watching live stream from New York where a car should have hit ten people on a pedestrian crossing and killed at least one of them.

My first thought when I heard about this incident-The driver has gotten an ill-feeling and perhaps fainted and have when fainted put pressure on the accelerator and thus increased the speed just before the pedestrian crossing.

If it should turn out to be a terrorist, terrorists may have understood that the trucks can not be used more and now taking ordinary cars as weapons against innocent - we are in a big problem

(if it is, I hope not, a terror attack-I guess this thread will be merged with our terror-thread)

Markus

[Nippelspanner]

"Just" a drunk driver.

[mapuc]

"Just" a drunk driver.


I heard it about 30 minutes I had made this thread.

I don't know about laws and what a drunk driver will get as a punishment if he or she is convicted in a court in the states or in New York.

I do hope the driver will get the toughest punishment there is and prevented from driving the rest of his or her life.

Markus

[Nippelspanner]

I am not sure, but I think most western countries rather rule less harsh when a perpetrator was under influence, which in my opinion is the opposite of how it should be.
It is not surprising people unlearn self-responsibility if the laws are arbitrary enough to basically support or at least excuse their irresponsible behavior.

Again, not sure how it is exactly in the US, but I know many western countries unfortunately, do it wrong.
Other than that, I agree with you.

[Platapus]

It depends on this man's criminal history. If his license has never been suspended for DUI, it is possible the state can charge him with Second Degree Vehicular Manslaughter which is a Class D felony punishable by up to 7 years in prison and $5,000 fine.

If he has a history of DUI infractions it can be elevated to First Degree or even Aggravated Vehicular Manslaughter. The former is a Class C felony 15 years $5,000 and the latter is a Class B Felony 25 years $5,000 fine

I am sure there will be other charges pending.

[ikalugin]

What would be class A felony?

[Jimbuna]

It depends on this man's criminal history. If his license has never been suspended for DUI, it is possible the state can charge him with Second Degree Vehicular Manslaughter which is a Class D felony punishable by up to 7 years in prison and $5,000 fine.

If he has a history of DUI infractions it can be elevated to First Degree or even Aggravated Vehicular Manslaughter. The former is a Class C felony 15 years $5,000 and the latter is a Class B Felony 25 years $5,000 fine

I am sure there will be other charges pending.

Apparently he has previous so if that is factual I'd be inclined to throw the book at him.

[Skybird]

People are responsible for how muich they drink, and when they tend to lose control while being under influence they are also responsible for them not preparing their drinking tour by handing over the keys to someody of their trust BEFORE they start drinking.

Being under influence as a reaosn for milder punishment, being under influence meaning the person is "not repsobile"?

The pregnant sister of my mother and her freshly married husband were wiped out by a drunk ghiost driver in the 70s, and the murderer got s mild sentence and was driving again soon again. My good girl friend of that time and fiance was wipee dout by a drunk driver when I was 20. He was given a mild punishment as well, was driving again just months later. Some years later he again caused a terrible accident - drunk, this time was nobod ykilled, but peope got seripouslm injured and one paralysed.

There are two more clashes with courts my family went through, that demonstrated an unbelieble lack of justice and a strict deformation of ethical priorities, and that was at our cost in both cases, almost ruining my parents and and seriously stressing my reserves, but that is another story.

I'm done with the law.

As an ex-psychologist I just laugh about the idea of that suspended penalty is a concept that makes sense. It does not, cognitive and learning theory are strictly against this hilarious claim, and the empirical evidence from behavioristic base experiments showing that, is overwhelming. "Suspended penalty" is founded on ideology that has nothing to do with human psychological reality. If you want to warn a first-time offender - and why giving him more than one wanring? - then give him a shorter serving in prison- but nnever ever suspend a penalty. It is no penalty then. The mere imagination of an averisve stimulus that has not been experienced ever, is not seen and experiences as a potentially behavipor-altering penalty. And if it is the seocnd or third crime, why would you then want to suddenly start giving suspended penalties?

And as somebody once said: mercy for the criminal, is an injustice against the innocent.

I'm done with the laws.

[Mike Abberton]

Look, I'm not defending drunk driving, I got hit by one quite a while back and was extremely lucky to be mostly uninjured let alone killed, but saying you get a "lighter" sentence for killing someone while driving under the influence is incorrect, or at least misleading.

Generally, for killing someone while driving under the influence without a history of DWI, the punishments would be similar to other forms of accidental homicide, e.g. shooting someone while cleaning a gun or while driving distracted/running a red light/speeding.

If you have a history of DWI, regardless of whether you've hurt/killed someone in the past while driving under the influence, the punishments ramp up and the charges get upped to manslaughter-type charges and eventually to murder charges. This represents that you are no longer making "a one time mistake" but rather making a willful/negligent decision that knowingly risks other peoples lives by your actions.

Mike

[Platapus]

Apparently he has previous so if that is factual I'd be inclined to throw the book at him.


And a well deserved throwing it would be in my opinion. Especially if he has priors of DUI nature he is, in my opinion, truly a threat to society and needs to be locked away.

[mapuc]

Heard more about it last night and was told, he had taken LSD or angel dust. During the arrest he should have said something to the police, about what he thought while driving.(can't find an article who have this, ´cause I heard it on the TV)

When I heard this, I couldn't help thinking-Yea man, what a sorrow of an excuse-You know what you have done, so now you're trying to find psychological escape as a hope for a softer verdict.

A little off topic story-Still about the same though

Somewhere in the end of the 90's the lawmakers/politicians in Sweden, was talking about or trying to add attempted murder and Murder in first degree among the Swedish law.

They wanted a person who had injured or killed a person under the influence of alcohol or drugs while driving a motor vehicle, being accused of attempted murder(if injured) or murder of first degree(if person is killed)

Do not know if this has been added to the Swedish laws

Markus

[Jimbuna]

And a well deserved throwing it would be in my opinion. Especially if he has priors of DUI nature he is, in my opinion, truly a threat to society and needs to be locked away.

Rgr that :yep:

[HW3]

I read somewhere he had smoked marijuana laced with PCP before the episode.

[eddie]

He's been charged with murder now, hasn't he?